Chapter 7: Desri
In a mysterious mountain village located in the southern part of the Chaos Territory, almost all the villagers had gathered. When they saw Miller, Livingston, and Linley flying over together, thousands of people instantly erupted into a frenzy, shouting the names of the two Saint-level experts with excitement.
"Miller!"
"Livingston!" "Livingston!" "Livingston!" ...
The tidal wave of cheers echoed continuously within the valley where the village was situated, making the atmosphere even more heated. Miller, Livingston, and Linley landed in the center. Miller simply raised his hands and pressed down gently, and the crowd fell silent at once.
Everyone looked at the three in the center, and many noticed the cute little Shadowmouse on Linley's shoulder.
A smile appeared on Miller's face. "This year, as in previous years, we are about to begin the village competition. However, there are two differences this time... First, the number of participants who signed up for the competition has reached 1,022, much higher than in previous years. Second, this year, the renowned Master Linley of the Yulan continent has come to our village!"
Master Linley?
Hearing this name, the thousands of villagers fell silent instantly, their gazes all fixed on Linley. Then, even more enthusiastic cheers erupted throughout the village. Everyone was thrilled by the arrival of the legendary Saint-level genius.
"Let me through." Reynolds kept pushing forward.
There were too many people. Reynolds, who had been keeping a low profile in the village, had initially stood at the back, but now he was constantly shoving his way to the front.
"What's the pushing for?" A dissatisfied shout suddenly rang out.
Reynolds turned his head and saw that it was Vidre, the one he had a conflict with. Amidst the deafening cheers outside, Vidre stared coldly at Reynolds and said in a low voice, "What? Want to catch a glimpse of Master Linley? Hah... how ridiculous!"
Reynolds ignored Vidre, instead sidestepping someone and continuing to push inward.
"Everyone, quiet down." Miller raised his hand and pressed down. The villagers quieted down, but just as Miller was about to speak, a voice came from within the crowd: "Third brother!"
Linley, who had been chatting and laughing softly with Livingston, suddenly froze. Livingston noticed the change in Linley's expression and was surprised. He whispered, "Linley?" But Linley seemed not to hear him. He slowly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
That familiar figure was right there in the crowd.
"Third brother..." Reynolds's body trembled with excitement.
"Fourth brother!" Linley felt a surge of joy and excitement. Without even bothering to say anything to Miller and Livingston, his figure blurred as he dashed straight to Reynolds, who had already squeezed out. The two brothers embraced tightly.
They hugged with great force!
Back when Linley had thought this good brother was dead, a violent aura had filled his chest. After learning the truth, he had flown into a rage and gone straight to kill the Yulin Prince. When he found out that Hook had killed Reynolds, Linley had been ready to kill Hook at the camp to avenge his brother.
But later, when Hook said Reynolds wasn't dead, Linley had refrained from killing him there.
Linley was not a soldier. In his heart, there was no concept of nobility or war. According to some monarchical doctrines, a subject must die if the sovereign demands it. The Yulin Prince, fearing death, had caused Reynolds's death, and Reynolds would have died in vain because, in the monarchical mindset, the ruler's status was elevated to the highest.
But in Linley's eyes...
Bullshit!
Even the emperor was not as important as his own brother. So what if he was an emperor? Born into a royal family and inheriting the throne—did that make him nobler than one's brother? That was nothing but brainwashing to fool the common people. Linley couldn't care less about that.
"Reynolds and Master Linley, they..." Everyone present was stunned.
Especially Vidre. In his eyes, Reynolds was just a pretty boy, yet he was embracing Linley excitedly? What was their relationship?
Linley and Reynolds let go of each other.
A rare, genuinely happy smile appeared on Linley's face as he turned to Miller and Livingston. "Miller, sorry for interrupting your hosting of the village competition."
"It's fine." Miller quickly replied, then looked at Reynolds with curiosity. "Brother Linley, what is your relationship with this Reynolds?"
Linley casually put his arm around Reynolds's shoulder and said, "Reynolds is my good brother, as close as a blood brother." Reynolds smiled and patted Linley's shoulder, pouting, "Third brother, don't say it so mushy."
"Haha..." Linley laughed heartily.
...
The village competition proceeded as usual, but many young villagers felt dazed seeing Linley and Reynolds together. They had bullied Reynolds before, beating and kicking him as if it were routine. If Reynolds told Linley, and Linley told Miller...
Given Miller's strict punishments, they would be in deep trouble.
"How did Reynolds get mixed up with Master Linley?" Vidre and his group of youths felt frustrated and aggrieved.
******
After the opening ceremony of the competition, Miller and Livingston led Linley and Reynolds away. They headed toward the village's forbidden area—Monica's home.
"Uncle Miller, I'd better not go." Reynolds looked at the dense forest ahead and immediately said.
This was the village's forbidden area.
Miller laughed. "No need. Since you're Linley's brother, come along. It's nothing." Suddenly, Miller frowned and chuckled, "Reynolds, you call me Uncle Miller, but I call Linley brother. This, this is... interesting, haha."
Linley and Reynolds were stunned for a moment, then both realized the absurdity.
Livingston laughed. "Miller, stop with the nonsense. We address each other however we like. I'm over a thousand years old, and I know Saint-level experts who are three or four thousand years old, or even five thousand. We still call each other directly."
"I was just saying." Miller shrugged with dissatisfaction.
Reynolds also laughed. Miller, who usually had a stern face, was actually joking. Probably few in the village had ever seen Miller joke. Reynolds understood... only in front of experts of the same level did these people relax and laugh freely.
"Miller, let's go. I've been very curious about those experts you mentioned." Linley urged.
He had always been intrigued by the 'experts' in this mysterious village. These experts had little fame on the continent, or perhaps they had been famous long ago. But their strength far surpassed those with prominent reputations.
Passing through the dense forest, they came to a large grassy area with various flowers scattered about. There were also stone benches and tables in the grass.
In the center of the grass was a circular lake.
Crossing the grass, they reached a spot near the mountain wall. Several stone houses were built against the wall, and the interior of the mountain had also been hollowed out.
"Brother Reynolds!" A delighted voice rang out, and a figure in white ran out from a cave entrance in the mountain wall. Linley looked at the beautiful woman with emerald hair, then at his brother Reynolds's expression.
Linley chuckled softly. "Third brother, no wonder you're reluctant to leave."
Reynolds gave an awkward smile.
Linley looked at Reynolds's expression as if he had seen a ghost. The playboy 'Reynolds' was actually embarrassed? Could it be that Reynolds was serious this time?
"Brother Reynolds, why are you here?" Monica grabbed Reynolds's hand, very excited. Reynolds immediately pulled Monica aside and explained in a low voice. Then Monica looked at Linley in surprise. "He's Linley?"
"Haha, I heard Linley is here?" A hearty laugh rang out.
Three figures walked over from the other end of the grass. The one who had spoken was a ruddy-faced old man with white hair and a youthful complexion. The other two were a chubby, seemingly friendly middle-aged man and, walking in the center, a refined middle-aged man in a moon-white robe with long black hair.
The refined middle-aged man was clearly the leader of the three.
"Father." Monica immediately ran to the refined middle-aged man, warmly taking his hand, then pointed to Reynolds and enthusiastically introduced him. "Father, this is Reynolds, the one I told you about."
Monica introduced Reynolds first, which made him a bit nervous.
This was like meeting his father-in-law for the first time. And most importantly... this future father-in-law seemed to be a very important figure.
"Not bad." The refined middle-aged man smiled kindly at Reynolds. Miller immediately introduced him, "Milord, this Reynolds grew up as a close brother with Linley. Their reunion here is also a stroke of fate for us."
As Miller spoke, he walked toward the refined middle-aged man and moved his lips slightly.
The refined middle-aged man's expression froze for a moment, then relaxed. Without anyone noticing, he casually glanced at the Shadowmouse 'Bebe' on Linley's shoulder, and his smile grew even warmer.
"Linley, hello. I'm very happy to meet you. Haha... let me introduce you." The refined middle-aged man was very enthusiastic, pointing to the ruddy-faced old man. "This is my good friend, who came with me, Hayward. He is also a mage, but a fire-element mage."
The ruddy-faced old man 'Hayward' smiled at Linley. "Reaching the ninth rank at twenty-seven, impressive."
"And this is Foreman, a Saint-level warrior. Like you, he cultivates the laws of the earth." The refined middle-aged man smiled. "I have another friend who is cultivating and should be here soon. Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet."
The refined middle-aged man gazed at Linley with a smile. "My name is Desri, and I cultivate the laws of light."
Linley's heart trembled.
It was him!
According to the War God, there were five people on the Yulan continent who had reached the Saint-level limit, just one step away from the divine level. The War God 'Fain' was one, and the strongest in the Chaos Territory was 'Desri'.
Linley understood that experts of this level could defeat him with a single move, just as Fain had knocked him unconscious with one blow.
Both Fain and Desri had reached the threshold of the divine level. Just one step away, but that step was very difficult. 'Hisse', for example, had been on par with Fain back then, but Hisse had finally taken that step and become a demigod.
"Linley greets Mr. Desri." Linley said humbly.
Desri smiled faintly. "Come, let's go inside and sit. My wife will be out shortly."
The group entered through the cave entrance along the mountain wall.
"Whoa." Linley looked in surprise at the interior of the mountain. A large space had been hollowed out, with various rooms and courtyards. Most importantly, the stone ceiling was inlaid with all kinds of crystals, casting colorful, dreamlike light everywhere.
Inside the mountain, the occasional 'ding-dong' of a mountain spring could be heard, everything so serene.
Although the weather outside was quite cold, the temperature inside the mountain was much warmer, making it very comfortable. In an open area, a rectangular stone table was set with various fruits and delicacies.
"Linley, have a seat. I'll go get my wife. Hayward, you all help me entertain Linley." Desri smiled, then walked inside, turning left and right. Soon, he arrived at a sealed stone chamber.
The sound of stone grinding was heard as the stone door swung open, and a beautiful woman in a luxurious white robe with emerald hair stepped out. At first glance, she looked almost identical to Monica. Only upon closer inspection did one notice she was more dignified and mature.
"Dear." Desri smiled at the woman. "Come on. Not only has Linley arrived today, but Reynolds has come too."
The beautiful woman frowned. "What is Reynolds doing here?" She really didn't like this pretty boy who had suddenly appeared, trying to court her daughter.
"Reynolds is a close brother who grew up with Linley." Desri explained.
"So what if he's a close brother? Linley is just a genius." The beautiful woman didn't think much of Linley. "If it weren't for his fast cultivation speed, would his mere strength be worth my coming out of seclusion for?"
Desri shook his head with a smile. "Dear, I think you'd better stop opposing Reynolds and our daughter being together, and change your attitude toward Linley."
"Why?" The beautiful woman frowned.
Desri said confidently, "Go take a look at the Saint-level magical beast on Linley's shoulder. I think... your attitude will change after you see it."